My Easter Egg Hunt

 

I knew where the eggs were hidden.

Visit #1592, Saturday 4 April 26, 7:20-9:55AM, 4.3 miles, 6.2 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 50s, sunny and comfortable.

I was quite surprised at the number of people I encountered on the trails, particularly since it was early morning.

This week I was on the hunt to correct things I found but was not equipped to address last week.

Stickers keep appearing on this particular guardrail as well as on nearby fence posts. I removed them again this week, and I'm trying a secret method to thwart future stickers, which I can't divulge. Of course I removed these this week and we'll keep an eye on our progress.

Then it was on to this illegally built trail. Trail markers get painted; I remove them. I also find unsightly junk hung on the trees which I remove as well.

On this day I covered 13 such trail markers.

Yet another religious tract. That's how I know the same person marking the trail is leaving the tracts.

Borrowing a currently popular phrase, I call it Tract Derangement Syndrome.

I was also on the hunt for the ubiquitous foam stickers. This week were Entries 17 - 20 of 2026.

While the sticker adhesive is aggressive, so am I in removing it, and the sticker.

I predicted the new metal guardrail on the road to Castle Craig would be attractive to graffiti vandals. This week I found and removed the first tag.

While climbing the trail up to Castle Craig last week I found this graffiti on a rock. This week I tried my wire brush on it but wasn't satisfied with the results. I expected this. It was another reason why I carried spray paint this week. I may have to return with a better color match.

I returned to the park with a full Easter basket. See if you can tell what's different in this photo versus

similar photos in previous posts. I'll give you the answer in the upcoming weeks.

Springtime And Back On The Trail

 Various diversions, including a snowy winter, kept me from having a proper hike in Hubbard Park. That is, until this week.

Visit #1591, Saturday 28 March 26, 8:45-11:25AM, 4.8 miles, 3.8 lbs. of litter (not including the chair.

Temps in the upper 30s with a cold wind from the north.

As you'll read shortly, I rode my bike to Hubbard Park a couple times this week which I didn't add to my tally.

Enroute to the park one of those days, I passed a parked pickup truck with a bumper sticker that said:

No Air Bags

We Die Like Real Men

I thought that was funny, sorta related to Hubbard Park, and worth sharing.

Last Thursday I took a mountain bike ride through the trails but due to time constraints and the setting sun I had to abbreviate my route. And good thing I did, because reaching the Halfway House I found a newly fallen tree.

Combined with another fallen tree I discovered back when there was snow on the ground, I felt it worthwhile to lug the chainsaw with me this weekend.

Hiking to the trail on Saturday morning, I found this quasi-puff jacket stuffed under a log. It's in serviceable condition and it's washed and drying already. I'll take it to Goodwill next week.

And here's the fallen tree by the Halfway House.

I hiked up to Castle Craig and followed a trail down to the second, and last, fallen tree.

Back on the road around Merimere Reservoir, I encountered more activity than on the trails.

Here's Cat Graffiti #s 19, 20, and 21, since November 2016. I removed all of them.

You can see my magic potion working on one of the three.

And the final result on all three.

Returning to the park to drop off my bag of litter, I picked up this abandoned camp chair.

But there was some unfinished work from Thursday's bike ride so I rode to Hubbard Park again on Sunday.

The birch tree on the trail leading to the walkbridge over I-691 continues to see someone persistently defile it. I covered over the red paint with flat black.

I found and removed yet more stickers from these popular fence posts at the I-691 walkbridge. Since I was on my bike I didn't have the tools with me to do a more thorough job.

I removed foam sticker #s 14 and 15 of 2026. I will not tally up those I've found in prior years but will begin a total this year.

Lastly,  I found and removed one more cat graffiti, #22 since November 2016.

I'm Done Mucking About

 

Time for my annual trompfest/cleanup of Crow Hollow Brook and the brook running from Merimere Reservoir, both in Hubbard Park.

Visit #1590, Saturday 21 March 26, 12:45-4:00PM, 3.0  miles, 42.2 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 50s, mostly sunny and breezy.

Last week, after painting over the graffiti, I kitted up for some litter patrol on the trails. Leaving the parking lot, I was stopped by a woman who asked if I was a city employee.

"No; why do you ask?" To which she replied she noticed all the litter in the brook.

"It's from all the 'outsiders'," she said.

"You mean to tell me locals don't litter, too?" I replied.

"It's from the "blank" outsiders, and I'll leave you to fill in the blank."

Whoa.

She had this look in her eyes like she made her own tinfoil hats. I knew I had to get away from her and quick, before she fitted me with one.

I clean the brooks and their banks once a year about this time anyway so that's what I did this week.

All the bags were disposed of properly.

Along the way I found Season of the Missing Glove 2025/26, entry #15.

In past years I wore a pair of wellies while trudging around the swampy banks and occasionally stepping in the water. But they had their limitations. I needed to up my game for those times when the water is really deep. 

This year my equipment rose to the occasion. Definitely the right tool for the job.

Almost complete with this annual task, I took a minute to rest and enjoy the view.